The Story Of How I Became A Female Buddhist Monk

A fact most of you will not know is that this year is the celebration of 130 years of positive relations between Korea and Germany. In that regard the German Embassy runs the 130+ programme. Koreans are matched with Germans and the couple can attend different cultural activities together. I applied for the Temple Stay programme and got selected to participate in a Temple Stay together with the lovely Junji in Haein-sa Temple in the Gaya mountains. I got to participate in ceremonies together with the monks, learnt how to meditate, got introduced to Korean Buddhism and learnt a lot about the personal stories of the monks. It was a truly beneficial experience and should be on everyone's list to do when they come to Korea. The whole programme included one night as well as talks with the monks and 108 prostrations (bows) to help our minds to purify. As a result, this amazonian Lady got transformed into this ultra super monk.


BEFORE

AFTER

What is the Haein-sa Temple?

If you are interested in Korean Buddhism, the history of Haein-sa is unavoidable. Being the  head temple of the Jogye Order (대한불교조계종, 大韓佛敎 曹溪宗) of Korean Buddhism as well as one of the Three Jewel Tempels of Korea it is an awestruck and magnificent site to be visited. Haein-sa is the location of the Tropikata Koreana: Roughly 82.000 wood printed printings that were made in the 13th century, way before Guttenberg printed his first Bible. Their production took about 16 years and they contain Buddhist Sudra's. Interestingly Guttenberg invented his printing style independently although, truth be told, the Koreans invented it first. Apart from this UNESCO recognized world heritage the Haein-sa complex contains several dormitories for the monks and praying and meditation halls which were constructed in 802! I also saw a tree on the grounds which was planted in 802 but unfortunately died in 1945. Personally it was the best oppertunity to start my discoveries of Buddhism because it is one of the few places were it is still practiced actively and represents traditional Korean Buddhism to the core. So, a perfect place to start my Buddhism adventure, which I do not know much about to be honest.

the Tropikata Koreana (I was not allowed to enter, so this is a picture of another picture :P)

My Experience

I took the bus together with lovely Junji from Deagu to Haein-sa, which lies in the middle of Gaya National Park. I had some trouble carrying my backpack up the steep road. Half the way it even ripped! So much for Deuter Backpacks... Anyway the scenery was amazing! It was raining but we were in the middle of a cloud and the foggy rainy weather gave the place a mystical flair as if we were hiking through magical mountains. Once we arrived on top we discovered that we were to early. Well, I left my backpack and then we had fishcake and coffee down the road. There was still snow on top of the mountains and the trees were covered with small white spots of ice. It was a stunning scenery even though I was told that usually the end of April is snow-free.

hiking along rivers and through the woods towards Haein-sa Temple and Monastery






A monk tells the Koreans how to be respectful in a temple

In the afternoon the program started. All in all we were a group of 6 foreigners (4 Americans and 2 Germans) and many more kind Koreans. Unfortunately, they split the group into English and Korean speaking so I was not able to stick with Junji most of the time. Well, as Buddhism says, it is about discovering your true self. I really like the idea that it is about 'worshipping yourself and discover your own happiness' (quote monk) rather than an a god or holy figure you have to make sacrifices for. We all had to wear a monk novice uniform while on temple grounds and the first thing I got introduced to was temple etiquette.

Imagine you are in Church and your phone rings or your stand around awkwardly because as a protestant you don't know how to kneel down properly or shake hands after praying. I did not want to be that person today. So our group learned how to bow in ceremony and how to walk when on temple grounds. The basic idea is to show respect to yourself and to strangers when walking arround and meeting people. I was told that the monks like it when foreigners can adapt to their rules and show respect with a small bow along the way and they enjoy to return the favor. However, I think as strangers and first timers we were forgiven many things since we are simply unaware of those little but important cultural differences (i.e. arranging your shoes properly infront of the door).

how to bow properly



After this we got to eat together with the monks in (awkward) silence and then it was time for evening ceremony. While we were walking towards the meditation hall we got the rare chance to see the preparations for the evening ceremony, meaning "getting the whole universe ready". The birds in the sky, the people on earth and the fish in the sea are called by playing a huge drum and ringing an enormous bell. This was actually one of the most touristy but also magical moments of my stay. It was alloed to film, so check it out!






As said above, Buddhism is about worshipping and finding your true self to find your own happiness. So when in ceremony you bow several times like a Buddhist (see picture above). The notion behind bowing is to leave your body behind and surrender it to your mind. Your mind can purify and become humble. Since I did not had any experience with this I did not know how to do it properly and I don't think my mind was that humble. All I could care about at that time was that my knees were hurting like hell and that I didn't knew what to think about this. Honestly, it is nice talk but how to purify your mind, what is my mind anyway and what does it mean to have a humble mind, how does it feel??? 

Talking with the monks

After the Evening ceremony, we were able to have tea with the monks and ask them questions. Every question was allowed and it was very interesting to hear their personal stories. Our monk was 45 years old and still a student of Buddhism. He had been a banker in his earlier life after which he worked in a big company in a neo-liberal system. He talked a lot about him overworking, burning out and being under a lot of stress. This lifestyle finally led to a stroke that left half of his body paralyzed. He had to stay in hospital for a year, depressed and suicidal without any friends. Nevertheless, he decided to start hiking and get his body moving again. While he was walking through the mountains he met a Buddhist monk. They became close friends and and talked a lot about philosophy and the meaning of their life. Eventually he ended up becoming a monk himself, trying to pursue his own true self and happiness. It was an amazing story and I can imagine that many of the burned out salary men out there want to find a way out of their depressed life characterized by overwork and quick decisions. Now our monk leads a calm and very steady life and he seemed very happy with himself.

our sweet and peaceful monk

I had a particular philosophical and maybe complex question for him. Actually I talked about this a lot with my friends at uni and this atmosphere seemed like the right place to ask. While we are studying, we gain knowledge. Ideally this knowledge should help us prepare for the work we will do later on or help us solve problems. However, I got the feeling, studying international relations, the more we learn the more complex the problems get and solving them becomes almost impossible. Practically the world is too complex and too many sides have to be considered. Having gained my BA degree recently, this feeling left me uneasy, knowing a lot but not being able to really contribute something because it is too difficult to choose. The monks answer was basically that if I want to contribute I have to choose a side but I should do so carefully. Order my priorities and know what I will give up. 'Do you want to catch the big fish and let the small fishes escape or do you want to catch some small fish but not being able to catch the big one at all?" (Actually I am unsure what he meant by that, maybe it was a mistake in translations...).

108 prostrations and Buddhist ceremonies and meditation

When tea time was over we went to bed at 9 p.m. Since the wake up call was at 3 a.m. we should make sure to get enough sleep. It was weird waking up so early on a Sunday morning where most people are still dancing around in the clubs. But we attended the ceremony, usually not permitted for foreigners, and it was magical. 50 monks were singing their Sudra's and bowing respectfully. I really envied them because they seemed really peaceful and in harmony with themselves. At 4 a.m. we were lead to a small room where we had to perform the 108 bows, a special ceremony only in Korean Buddhism meant to purify your mind and offer your body to become humble. It was really exhausting to stand up and bend down again 108 times but afterwards I felt awesome. I must say, I am getting used to the bowing and the feel of soft cushion on my forehead made me calm down... I don't know why. During meditation, many fell asleep but I was more concerned about my stiff legs.... The trick is to led your thoughts come and go until you are thinking nothing or the thought:"What am I thinking right now" comes to you, capture that moment. Well it didn't work for me. My thoughts were actually spinning around and around from the weather to my family and to my future plans.

Nevertheless, I felt like a female super monk!

Thanks for Reading! Leave a comment or follow me on Twitter!